English Education

(M.A.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction)

Campus: Virginia TechBlacksburg Campus

Instructions: Residential/On Campus

The English Education programs at Virginia Tech meld traditional issues of teaching writing, language and literature with newly emerging practices and research in adolescent literacy, new literacies, multimodal technologies and teaching and learning in 21st-century classrooms.

This program is designed for students interested in teaching middle or high school English, grades 6-12, who have successfully completed an undergraduate major in English. The program is NCATE approved and meets the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) guidelines. The program also offers opportunity for additional endorsement in journalism for interested candidates. The program requires a minimum of 15-18 months to complete. There is also a two-year option.

Why Study English Education Here?

The English Education programs at Virginia Tech prepare English teachers, teacher educators, and scholars to be successful in the context of increasingly standardized education reforms. Working from the perspective that learning should be a generative act, faculty guide students in the exploration of concepts that make student-centered, dialogic approaches central constructs in the study of teaching and learning. Courses in the program focus on literacy development and consider the roles of language and culture in approaches to teaching that bring classroom content into dialogue with students’ lives in 21st century classrooms.

What You’ll Study
The M.A.Ed. in English Education includes a combination of graduate coursework (e.g., educational foundations, methods of teaching English) and fieldwork (e.g., a 3-hour early field internship during the fall semester and a 9-hour student teaching internship during the spring semester). Students admitted to the program are required to complete 9-12 hours of coursework before beginning the early field internship.

Career and Professional Development
This program is designed for students interested in teaching middle or high school English, grades 6-12. Most of students pursuing our program become English or writing instructors.

Blacksburg Campus
This degree program is offered at the Blacksburg campus. The Blacksburg campus offers students the full services of the university, including an extensive library, technology support, and the Graduate Life Center.